


Silentium

by Caraphernellic



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Angst, F/M, Fluff, MSR, Mutual Pining, Oneshot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:41:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25140280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caraphernellic/pseuds/Caraphernellic
Summary: Mulder & Scully are poking around where they shouldn't be & have to face the consequences.
Relationships: Fox Mulder/Dana Scully
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	Silentium

**Author's Note:**

> Gets a bit angsty here but no major character death, don't worry! Also, no show spoilers in this fic.

The agents make their way over the dry terrain, their target several hundred feet ahead. An old, decommissioned military base is the destination. It looks wildly out of place here in the woods, although the once-sturdy building is now clearly abandoned and nearing the point of dilapidation. Crumbling brown leaves crunch under Mulder’s hiking boots & Scully’s athletic shoes alike as they close the gap between themselves and the building.

This was one of Mulder’s ideas, of course. And Scully went along with it, of course.

Such is life.

She watches with squinted eyes as her partner tugs on the old door, more than mildly surprised when it gives way without further coaxing. The pair steps inside, the windowless building dark aside from the small square of light filtering in from the open door. Scully hears the telltale flick of a light switch and a single, ominously flickering ceiling fluorescent is the only one that turns on. They trek through the light debris coating the peeling linoleum floor- old papers, pens, various other office supplies, and of course, dust- in search of file cabinets.

“It’s got to be here somewhere.” Mulder mutters, it being the document he is desperately in search of. Scully follows his lead silently, blue eyes scanning the room for the filing cabinets as well. She sees more than one tiny field mouse scamper by and tries not to think about it, tries not to think about what other kinds of animal might have taken up residence in here.

They come upon an elevator, and Mulder shrugs and presses the button. For the second time, Scully is surprised as she hears a ‘ding’. The duo steps inside of the old shaft, each silently praying that it will take them safely to the underground floor. 

Again, she lets her partner take the lead as they scour the basement. There is just as much, if not more, debris here than on the main level. Another mouse scampers by and she shudders, batting away an imaginary cobweb as her unconscious dredges up more creepy crawlies.

Scully pokes behind an old desk and rifles through the time-worn papers. She’s too preoccupied to hear the shuffling noises behind her on the floor. She feels the sting before anything else registers- the background noise she had heard was that of a snake slithering toward its prey. She must have accidentally stepped on it without even realizing.

She yelps in surprise and turns around to face her attacker. Her surprise turns to horror in an instant when she recognizes the coloring and pattern. 

Scully has been bitten by a venomous coral snake. 

Her yelp has gotten the attention of Mulder, who now appears in front of her. “Scully?” She meets his eyes in terror, the fear momentarily paralyzing her. 

“It bit me…” She barely registered walking around to the front of the desk, but she is now no longer in the snake’s territory of the alcove created by the desk and the wall. “We need to go.”

Her ankle has already begun to swell with injury and the injection of venom, and she hobbles behind her partner as he practically drags her along with his grip on her forearm.

“What do we do? Can I suck the venom out?” Mulder is panicked, his hazel eyes wide and searching her own for answers.

“That’s a myth, Mulder.” Her mind is racing- they are at least a mile deep into the woods, in an abandoned building that no one would know to even look for. They shuffle back into the elevator, both of their hands reaching for the MAIN FLOOR button at the same time. 

Her ankle throbs and she lifts it off the floor to alleviate some of the pressure. The old elevator groans and shakes. Blue eyes and hazel eyes meet as they listen to the old shaft struggle to lift the long since abandoned elevator. It stops. The doors do not open.

Both agents are quiet for several seconds as they individually register that they are trapped in an elevator between floors. Mulder begins mashing the emergency button with his finger as soon as he recovers from the revelation. There is no sound, no personnel answers the distress call. He pulls out his cell phone next, dialing 9-1-1 and praying for signal. Not shockingly, there is no signal in the woods, underground.

Scully watches him, watches his panic as her own mind feels strangely calm. Too calm for the situation- trapped, with a snake bite slowly leaking more venom into her body. She sits down, knees to her chest.

“We’ll figure it out Scully, we’ll get out of here. We’ll get you help.” He sounds sure, but then again she has worked enough cases with him to know that he’s good at putting on a brave face in the heat of the moment. Within ten minutes, Scully feels the effects as strong as a glass of Scotch. Her mind is already hazy as she watches her partner pound on the walls and ceiling of the elevator. He exhausts all options fairly quickly when prying the thick metal doors and opening the tiny ceiling vent do not provide them with a way out.

Mulder sits beside her, wordlessly removing his jacket and draping it over her shoulders. Her skin is pale and clammy, and she is cold to the touch. He tugs her closer, tucking her small frame under his arm. Neither acknowledges the dire situation, but internally they both know this is very bad. He holds her hand, silently marveling at how small it seems in his. Her strong, capable hands, with her round nails always painted with natural sheer pink polish. Scully’s head leans on his shoulder and her other hand comes up to lightly grip his shirt.

A few more minutes pass, but it’s so difficult for either one to tell how much time that they don’t even try. The only thing that seems real is their shared body heat, in the small dusty elevator that is barely lit by another flickering overhead light.

He thinks about how he should’ve never dragged her out here, how the past years they’ve spent together have been spent similarly- him convincing her to go on a wild goose chase and her following him into the dark on faith in him alone. 

She thinks about the same thing in a different viewpoint- how he has given her faith like she’s never known, faith in something other than the things she can readily see and touch. 

Scully can smell his familiar scent, the cologne almost worn off as it nears the end of the day. His chest is warm as she leans against it, and solid. She’d never admit that she’s waited years to feel this, and if this is how it ends, she could never regret this. She regrets a lot of things in her life, but the portion of it she’s spent with Mulder she could never place in the category of regret. 

He shifts, and pulls her legs over his lap while he keeps her tucked under his arm, practically cradling her. Scully’s breathing has slowed and her eyes drift close, each blink becoming longer than the last. “Mulder….”

“I’ve got you, Scully.” The hand that previously gripped his shirt loosens and falls to her lap.

The time in the elevator holding a silent Scully is the longest of his life.

In a last ditch effort, he stretches his arm out to mash the MAIN FLOOR button once again. 

Nothing.

A few seconds pass, and by the grace of God, once again it groans and shakes, but moves slowly upward. 

Mulder holds his partner tightly to his chest as he barrels over the grimy floor, almost slipping on discarded papers on several occasions. His feet carry him through the woods, twigs snapping loudly with each pounding footstep. When he is halfway to the car, he stops and pulls out his cell phone. He can’t even breathe as he dials 9-1-1 for the second time, and describes their location to the dispatcher. 

Mulder runs Scully the rest of the way to their vehicle, where he has agreed to meet emergency services. They’re a few minutes behind him, but he only has focus for Scully. Her strawberry blonde lashes curl over her cheeks, and he thinks that she has never looked so small. Her chest rises and falls too slowly for comfort, but she’s breathing. He has never seen a more beautiful sight.

He disregards the FBI-sanctioned vehicle they were given as he accompanies Scully in the ambulance. 

He is forced to stay in the waiting room once they arrive at the hospital, but Mulder can’t sit still. He braces his hands on the wall and slowly exhales for what feels like the first time since he first heard his partner yelp. 

Scully, the woman who charged into his office so many years ago, petite and so beautiful yet so commanding. The woman who has been by his side for every crazy theory since that first day, with a quip to bust his balls but silent support to match. She has quite literally brought him back from the brink of death, and he can’t fathom anything other than the idea that she’ll be okay. 

He is allowed to see her after a small eternity. He brings with him a small bouquet of overpriced roses from the hospital gift shop, but she isn’t awake when he enters the room. Mulder sits quietly by her bedside watching the tv with the sound off so as not to disturb her, until 1am when she stirs.

“Mulder...” it was the last thing he had heard her say before, and the first thing she has said now.

She smiles softly as she takes in his disheveled hair and wrinkled clothing. “You look worse than me.”

“On the brink and still giving me crap? That’s cold, Scully.” He grins back at her, never happier for their playful bickering than he is in this moment.

“I’m sorry we didn’t find what you were looking for.” Scully looks at him sympathetically.

Mulder shakes his head, “I did, actually.” 

His hand finds hers again.

**Author's Note:**

> Idea came from the snakes in S7Ep9 'Signs & Wonders'. Corn snakes are in fact venomous, and can bite when stepped on, and are found in wooded areas/underground. However, some of the details and effects of the venom have been slightly exaggerated courtesy of my artistic license.
> 
> This is my first Mulder/Scully fic and first X-Files fic, leave me a comment!


End file.
